By Tiernan Ray

Here are some things going on this morning in your world of tech:

Shares of Twitter (TWTR) are down $3.43, or almost 5%, at $69.75, after Macquarie Equity Research’s Ben Schachter cut his rating on the shares to Underperform from Neutral, writing following a 40% jump in the last two weeks, “We continue to believe that Twitter as a company has a bright future and many opportunities ahead. However, as a stock, we believe nothing has changed over the last 15 days to justify the rise in valuation.”

Shares of Textura (TXTR), the cloud computing software operator that was pilloried yesterday in a note by Citron Research calling it it a fraud, are down another $2.57, or 8%, at $28.78. The stock got at least one defender this morning, William Blair’s Bhavan Suri, who reiterates an Outperform rating, writing that “We believe that these claims are misleading and self-serving and believe that the 17% selloff is unwarranted and presents a very attractive entry point for investors.”

“While we believe that there is nothing fraudulent about Textura’s operations and financials, we caution investors that authors of these reports typically issue multiple short reports on the same company and we expect them to do the same on Textura, possibly causing further volatility in the stock. In the following note, we address the major claims of the report and why we believe they are inaccurate.”

Needham & Co.’s Charlie Wolf this morning reiterates a Buy rating on shares of Apple (AAPL), and a $595 price target, positioning himself as a refusenik in the race to upgrade Apple numbers: Wolf says he won’t raise any estimates despite the signing of a deal with China Mobile (CHL) to sell the iPhone, the announcement of which caused a flurry of Street estimate increases this week and in preceding weeks.

Writes Wolf, he’s waiting to hear Apple’s fiscal Q1 report, some time in January, before he adjusts his numbers. “Most Chinese consumers, with income levels far below those in developed regions, favor smartphones priced substantially below the prices of iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C,” he notes, though he points out China Mobile can “choose to partially subsidize the price of the iPhone” and help the matter.

Apple shares are down $2.27, or 0.4$, at $561.69.

Wolf also opined on BlackBerry (BBRY) today, reiterating an Underperform rating, and writing that it will take a year or two before the Street knows if the turnaround plan outlined by CEO John Chen last Friday can succeed.

Wolf thinks BlackBerry has to succeed with its partnership with manufacturing outfit Foxconn, because “the company needs to increase its device revenues to offset the fixed expenses in its operations.”

BlackBerry stock is up 25 cents, or 3.6%, at $7.31.

Speaking of Apple, Bloomberg’s Joel Rosenblattthis morning writes that Apple again asked U.S. district judge Lucy Koh in San Jose to bar sales of 20 different models of Samsung Electronics (005930KS) smartphones and tablets covered by last year’s nearly $1 billion judgment against Samsung on patent infringement.

Apple told the court in its filing “an injunction is important to providing Apple the relief it needs to combat any future infringement by Samsung through products not more than colorably different from those already found to infringe,” writes Rosenblatt.

Noted bear on Universal Display (OLED) Jonathan Dorsheimer with Canaccord Genuity today reiterates a Sell rating on the maker of organic light-emitting diode technology, writing that the coming Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off in Las Vegas on January 5th, may not prove to be the catalyst for the stock it has been in past years.

“While some may see a few OLED TVs and bendable phones on display, we do not see commercial volumes making it into our homes,” writes Dorsheimer.

“Much like the superficial glitz and glamour that makes up the essence of Las Vegas, we encourage investors not to give into the temptations these prototypes may bring.” Dorsheimer cites Sony (SNE) and Panasonic (6752JP) and Samsung all backing away from some OLED efforts in general, instead pursuing conventional LCD displays of one sort or another.

Add a Comment

We welcome thoughtful comments from readers. Please comply with our guidelines. Our blogs do not require the use of your real name.

Comment

There are 11 comments

DECEMBER 27, 2013 11:37 A.M.

Anonymous wrote:

This is a good article because of what it updates, however, it also boggles the mind with how much sarcasm it invites. Really. Has Lucy Koh been hanging out with Charlie? C'mon. As the world turns. Samsung device user meet Blackberry user. This is like watching two teams play soccer without a ball. You guys win participation awards.

DECEMBER 27, 2013 11:43 A.M.

Re Twitter wrote:

What has changed is that Jack Dorsey has a lot of new fans!! He's also now on Disney's board etc. People listen to him. And he's cute too.

DECEMBER 27, 2013 11:48 A.M.

twtr wrote:

What seems to be happening is all the people on wall street that missed out are now speaking down about TWTR to make it drop, can't handle the rest of us that invested actually doing well on a stock!

DECEMBER 27, 2013 11:48 A.M.

Barry Lind wrote:

Citron Research is SHORT on TXTR. Hello???? This stock manipulation at it's finest. Citron Research is taking a BATH on this stock - they're getting kileld and will lose all thier money. How do companies like Citron Research are aloud to MANIPULATE stocks for their own gain??? Hello??? This is stock fraud at it;s finest from Citron Research.

DECEMBER 27, 2013 12:00 P.M.

Re BB wrote:

How's it supposed to survive w/o an ecosystem?! Outside of BB nobody is going to get rich on the platform. What is the reason why anyone would make a one or two year commitment and migrate to the BB? What's the point? For a minute remove Foxconn from the equation. Don't be blinded. Re the competition, a lot can happen in one or two years. BB is down to pathetic resources.

DECEMBER 27, 2013 1:00 P.M.

freddysrevng wrote:

BlackBerry Z30 is Destroying Apple 5S and Samsung Galaxy S4 in "Ratings by Owners" and has a much higher 93% would "Recommend a Z30 to a Friend"....

Chen said, on the earnings call, that BlackBerry would "partner with Foxconn for lower ticket phones" but would continue to utilize the BlackBerry design team to "design and manufacture high end BlackBerrys".. if the Z30 is any indication...

The shame of it is that the iMedia and iAnalysts have done such a wonderful job of bashing BlackBerry that people may "miss out" on the Z30 and future BlackBerry offerings...

Better Product... Better Ratings by Owners.... BlackBerry...

DECEMBER 27, 2013 2:42 P.M.

@ freddysrevng wrote:

Numb nuts. Bell is selling the Z30 for $49.95. 2 yr contract. And that's before getting a $50 BB rebate for tossing off any old BB. Or do details not matter? And it only got 4 reviews. Popular huh. And that's the response from its most hospitable market. BTW. How come you're not at your checkers tournament today? It's free hair cut day for you old guys... They'll even trim your ear hairs and nose hairs. Dust you up with lavender so you don't reek of kidney byproducts. Win a box of Depends...

DECEMBER 27, 2013 3:08 P.M.

Ed wrote:

Today is Bend Over Day like every Friday at Apple. Stock gets held at 560 by Wall Street and Tim Cook and the Useless Management Team just Bend Over and let it happen. Again, every Friday is Bend Over Day at Apple. Assume the position. What a Pathetic Bunch. Only at Apple where the Pussies are

DECEMBER 27, 2013 4:29 P.M.

Sam wrote:

Apple stock and Tim Cook both sux

DECEMBER 27, 2013 8:26 P.M.

Anonymous wrote:

bbry will brun thru their cash before that 2 year period is even half gone. the clock is ticking and chen doesnt have that kind of time. i call bulls**t

DECEMBER 27, 2013 11:21 P.M.

@ Ed wrote:

Ed. What's the big deal about bending over? You've been leading the bending over pack for years. Tell us about how you've been drinking paste by the gallon! Hmm. And don't be modest.

About Tech Trader Daily

Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: techtraderdaily@barrons.com.